


Friend to all Living Creatures

by nottodaydeath



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Animals, Cute, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fallen Angels, Fallen Castiel, Fluff and Angst, Gen, Hurt Castiel, Hurt Dean Winchester, Hurt/Comfort, Protective Dean Winchester, Sad, Season/Series 08-09 Hiatus, Season/Series 09, castiel - Freeform, pain lots of pain
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-06-18
Updated: 2013-06-18
Packaged: 2017-12-15 09:17:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 469
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/847848
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nottodaydeath/pseuds/nottodaydeath
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Takes place following the Season 8 finale, a short ficlet looking at Castiel's grief and confusion following the loss of his grace.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Friend to all Living Creatures

After his fall from grace, Castiel is curious to find himself drawn more to animals than human beings.

It starts with a cat in the street, whose fur is thick with grease and skin is covered with scabs; he proudly glowers at Castiel from the other side of the alley they are both skulking in. He crouches and they have a baleful staring match until the cat seems to deem him worthy to approach, and rubs it’s heart shaped nose against his outstretched hand. They curl up together beside some trash cans, the cat’s purring helping Castiel drift off to sleep for the first time. 

When the Winchester brothers finally track him down to the side of the highway he is currently sleeping on, they take him to the bunker, clean him up and wash his clothes. Dean practically force-feeds him three times a day, talks at him, shakes him, breaks things, yells at Castiel to say something, say anything. However, he doesn’t speak to them, not a word. Instead, he reverently traps spiders in cups and sets them gently back on the grass outside, and puts out cheese for the mice to eat; according to the cartoons he had watched for research purposes, cheese is irresistible to mice. 

Sam insists that he should go outside and get some fresh air, so Dean drives him to a nearby park, quietly resentful in the driver’s seat about Castiel’s continued silence. It’s filled with pigeons, and they quickly become his favourite creature in the animal kingdom. The next day, he sneaks out of the bunker, returning to the park and to just sit, barely breathing, for as long as it takes for the birds to believe that he is a statue and perch on him. His trench coat becomes splattered with their excrement, but for the stolen moments when he can lightly stroke one finger down the pigeon’s grey wings, it is worth it. 

When Castiel at last abandons his reverential vigil and stands up – the blood rushing to his legs in a manner which is surprisingly painful – he watches them abandon their perch and spiral upwards into the open sky. His chest aches and after a moment he realises what he is feeling is longing; so many feelings which he had assumed were merely metaphorical have turned out to be physically, painfully, real. He can’t help but feel angry, as it feels like his vessel, or his body now, is in revolt against him. 

He picks up a stray grey feather from the ground and walks out of the park. Dean is outside, leaning on the Impala, waiting for him. On the drive back to the bunker, Castiel buries his face in his hands. Dean doesn’t say anything, just wordlessly reaches out and puts a hand on Cas’s shuddering shoulder.

**Author's Note:**

> Was inspired by this piece of fan art http://deanwinchesterprays.tumblr.com/post/53227904435. Thank you to Becky for being my beta! I feel sad now, I hope you do too. Thanks for reading!


End file.
